This invention relates to the field of vacuum insulated containers of the type commonly referred to as thermos bottles. More specifically, it relates to an improvement in thermos bottle construction whereby the need to remove a cap to dispense the liquid therefrom is avoided. Since the purpose of a thermos bottle is to maintain its contents at a desired serving temperature, either hot in the case of coffee and the like or cold in the case of soft drinks, it is desirable to maintain the integrity of the vacuum unit to prevent heat transfer.
Prior thermos bottle designs, whether wide mouth or narrow mouth in construction, usually require that a cap be removed and the bottle be tipped to some degree to pour the contents from the bottle. During this dispensing operation the insulating properties of the bottle are impaired. Another disadvantage of prior designs is that during pouring it is easy to spill the contents and if the liquid is hot, burns can result. The present invention provides an improved vacuum bottle design which avoids the necessity for pouring liquids therefrom and which maintains the integrity of the temperature insulating bottle. These objectives are accomplished by the provision of a pump dispenser as part of the vacuum bottle design. The dispenser is mounted on the top of the bottle in place of a cap and permits the dispensing of liquids from the heat insulating interior in response to manual pumping.
Pump units for vacuum bottles have been developed by others. These devices are highly complex employing a great number of components and being relatively more expensive to manufacture than the present invention. The present invention achieves its simplicity through the use of a user controlled air intake and an efficient design whereby many of the components serve more than one function in the overall design.
It is, accordingly, one object of the invention to provide a simple low cost pump unit having a vacuum insulated or similarly insulated bottle which employs a relatively low number of reliable components to accomplish its fluid pumping function.
Another object of the invention is the provision of a pump dispenser for a vacuum bottle which can be substituted for a cap of existing vacuum bottles.
A further object is the provision of a pump dispenser for an insulating container, such as a Styrofoam container, which dispenser can be utilized in place of a cap.
A further object is the provision of a pump dispenser which is manually operated to dispense liquids from the interior of a container and which employs a mechanically operated pumping device free from jamming due to angular movement of the pumping disk.
Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the remaining portion of the specification.